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Yes, the Internet is abuzz with the (alleged) blueprint for an expansion of Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom (We first saw them at the Soft-Opening side of the Disney Report site.) Truth be told, it launched discussion here at Theme Park Rangers World Headquarters as well.

Whether this is approved or pie-in-blue-sky or jumping-off-spot or trial balloon or just plain (very elaborate) ruse, it's still fun to talk about. (Disney, for their part, as usual, doesn't officially comment on rumor or speculation. But lets! ).

Blow up the image above and orient yourself. Cinderella Castle is not shown -- it would be off to the bottom-left, but the round thing in the corner is Cinderella's Carrousel. The round image center-bottom is Wild Tea Party, and you can see the Indy Race Car track to the right of that.

This graphic puts a New Fantasyland atop the old structure, moves a few things and prompts a bunch of questions. Here are a few things we tossed about:

+ What does this mean to Mickey and Minnie's houses in Toon Town? Homeless? How does Barnstormer fit into these plans?

+ The idea of Dueling Dumbo rides (upper right) is fun ... but why are two areas designated "DUMBO"?

+ Like much of Disney in the 21st century, it's princess-heavy, noting a Cinderella attraction, an Aurora attraction and big Little Mermaid attraction (dig that lower-intestine-style queue! ).

+ We like the idea of a Be Our Guest restaurant, especially if it's decorated with dancing plates and utensils. But we don't believe for a second that Gaston's Tavern would serve anything stronger than root beer.

+ The area marked as "Castle Wall"? What the Tink? Hard to imagine separating the old homestead from Fantasyland, but maybe we're being too literal?

+ And what of the other current attractions such as "it's a small world" and Peter Pan? That feels a little Lower Fantasyland right now.

+ Reason to believe: something HAS to be in the works somewhere, right? At this point in time, there's no announced projects for any of the Disney World parks (we're not counting Space Mountain revamp until they're more specific). And there is the matter of a whole handful of Harry Potter scheduled to open next year at Universal's Islands of Adventure.

+ Reason to believe, part 2: Ranger Matt points out that it reminds one of the Disneyland Hong Kong style: lots of gardens to walk around in, lots of characters to meet.

I like it. Having an extra Dumbo ride makes a lot of sense. Mickey and Minnie lose their "summer homes," though. Everybody should visit their homes in Disneyland, anyway! The Be Our Guest restaurant and Gaston's Tavern are very appealing. And adding a back wall to the castle also makes sense -- right now the rear is unprotected and that's something we don't see every day (haven't seen it at all yet) -- the backside of castle wall.

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RichKosterDisney Echo modEARator / administratEAR
“Dreams Do Come True Down In New Orleans.”
– Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"

So what are the new princess attractions, walk-throughs? Compared to the existing dark rides (lower part of the plans) there doesn't seem to be enough space for a track inside the buildings. The Belle attraction looks like a few display rooms that are view from a walk-through corridor.

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RichKosterDisney Echo modEARator / administratEAR
“Dreams Do Come True Down In New Orleans.”
– Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"

I really wouldn't get too excited about this. Imagineers "blue-sky" ideas all the time about existing areas and areas not yet being used. This could be a master plan or just some ideas that came together on paper. Getting a green light for something of this magnitude might never happen, but if it did it could still be years in the planning and construction phases.

I wouldn't really miss Mickey and Minnie's houses. If you've seen them once, you've seen everything. The ones at WDW are getting a little worn anyway. It's almost like kids are running amok in there everyday, touching everything, and.....Oh wait, they are.

I do think it is a master plan and not perhaps something which would happen all at once. But it does look legit and I'm glad the are thinking outside the box, like moving Dumbo and having two of those attractions -- maybe Dumbo would even have more flying elephants per spinning attraction, who knows? I also hope they make them like the one at Disneyland with water underneath. That looks so nice.

About the master plan aspect, having a plan is a good thing, no?

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RichKosterDisney Echo modEARator / administratEAR
“Dreams Do Come True Down In New Orleans.”
– Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"

Well, if these plans come true, that means Mickey's Toontown Fair is no longer going to be where it is now. How about putting a new Mickey's ToonTown over at Disney's Hollywood Studios, even better than the one at Disneyland? That would help balance out all the new Pixar things that have been added there. Since TV and movie productions have fizzled out at the Studios, there is room to expand into previous areas reserved for backstage.

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RichKosterDisney Echo modEARator / administratEAR
“Dreams Do Come True Down In New Orleans.”
– Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"